PolySpool Uncoils BTB Mailer, Web Site

D&D Innovations LLC is using direct mail and its Web site to introduce its PolySpool invention to irrigation installation companies for agriculture and large property lawn irrigation.

"The president of D&D, Mark E. Dristy, came to us because he wanted a simple Web page where their orders could be taken, and he was going to make the postcard himself," said James Sposto, co-founder and creative director of Sposto Productions LLC, Kutztown, PA, which created the direct mail piece and the company's site. "I told him, 'If you're going to spend money, spend it on the postcard before you spend it on the Web site because the postcard is your first point of contact. That's where you want to make your first impression.' Ultimately, he had us do both."

The 9-by-6-inch oversized postcard informs recipients that the PolySpool "turns a TWO person job into a ONE person job!" A "Poly Man" is shown on the left side of the piece holding tubing, and his cost is printed: "$15,000 (per year)." The right side contains the PolySpool and its price: "$1,995 (period)."

Additional copy includes: "make more money," "manage fewer workers," "be more competitive," "win more jobs" and "waste less pipe." Recipients can respond via a toll-free number or polyspool.com, which are listed at the bottom of the piece along with the image of a tractor pulling tubing from the PolySpool.

"D&D created the product, and anyone in the lawn irrigation industry that lays this type of plastic pipe would be able to see the benefits of PolySpool," Sposto said. "The direct mail piece is going to the whole market, and this speaks directly to the companies that have to pay a guy to hold the pipe."

The first drop of 500 went Feb. 27, and a total of 6,000 pieces are expected to mail. The rest will go out based on response to the initial mailing. Manufacturing capacity limitations also are part of the reason for the small initial drop.

D&D, also of Kutztown, would break even with "a couple of hundred sales" while the company would "consider the effort to be successful" with a 10 percent response rate, which is thought to be achievable given the campaign's highly targeted nature, Sposto said.

The print run expense was $1,400 for the 6,000 pieces while a per-piece mailing cost of 20 cents was incurred along with a service fee to the mailing house that was involved, along with Sposto Productions' design fee. The total cost, including Web site design and all costs related to the direct mail piece, was $5,500.

"We wanted the prospective customers to recognize that this product was exactly for their industry," Sposto said. "The man holding the coil of poly is something the market will recognize instantly as an inefficient use of a worker - standard practice in that industry. The contrast between that and the product, and the price of each, allows the customer to instantly see the value of the product.

"We also selected colors, yellow and green, that are considered agricultural product colors. These colors are used for tractors, farm and excavation equipment and provide a strong, positive association. Yellow and green colors are very John Deerish. They want straight talk since this is a straight-talking group that is being targeted."

Polyspool.com asks: "Why pay $15,000 each year to have a person uncoil polyethylene tubing?" It also outlines features of the product.

"The Web site provides consistency of experience," Sposto said. "We want the people who see the direct mail piece to get the same sense of quality when visiting the site."

Sposto also said that order forms can be downloaded from polyspool.com. Expectations include having 75 percent of the orders received through the site. The company is handling all incoming calls to the toll-free number.

"They can answer the questions better than any call center could," he said.

Sposto also mentioned the significance of the video presentation of the item's use that is accessible via the site.

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